P.S. I really love this game!
The app is free with optional in-game purchases. Just download the game from the google app store/play store and you're good to go. The game works on both apple iPhone and Android, but not on Android Nougat yet. Once it's downloaded you're ready to play!Choosing your starter doesn't matter. The professor who gives you a quick and simple tutorial on how to catch Pokémon doesn't tell you this little fact. All the starters will just magically appear in front of you and you get to practice catching one. Once caught, the rest disappear from sight. As you play the game more you will come across those starters again, and again. So there's technically no starter Pokémon in the game which is a shame because we are so used to it being such a important decision.
In order to play you need to get off the couch. This is a mobile game but it's not one you ideally sit there playing all day. This game requires you get up and go out into the world, like a real Pokémon trainer. But don't just walk or drive aimlessly. You'll get no where with that. You need to follow the grass rustles and the Pokéstops. If you have time on your hands then you can aimlessly walk around because Pokémon to tend to appear which I will discuss next.
You can track Pokémon. At the bottom right corner is the bar that tells you if there are near by Pokémon. So if you didn't know that before then to you the Pokémon just came up randomly. But in reality you can track the Pokémon. They have footprints under them to determine how far away they are. One footprint means it's close by while three means it's a bit away. Many of us can probably guess which Pokémon are on the list with all that practice from the show with "Who's that Pokémon?" But in case you weren't good at that once you find the Pokémon and register it in your Pokédex it will appear clear as day on the nearby list.
You have a bubble! Your character is going to have a pulsing ring around them that I like to call a bubble. If a Pokémon is in your bubble as you're traveling then you can tap on it to try and catch it with a Pokéball. Same goes for Pokéstops. Many people have been getting into trouble with this, and let's make that double the trouble. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GO INTO THE BUILDING! If the Pokéstop is in your bubble all you have to do is click it and swipe it to receive the items from that stop. If you're walking you can just stand outside the place and if you're driving you can just park in the parking lot or on side of the street to take care of Pokémon business. Please be responsible when you play this game.Pokéstops give you items. This of the Pokéstop as a Pokémart in the original gameboy games. Pokéstops will most likely give you Pokéballs which are nice, And you may even get an egg. But a rare item to find from a Pokéstop is incense. So be cautious when using your incense. The Pokéstops do reset every 10 to 15 minutes, so you can always wait it out to get more items. Utilizing the Pokéstops will let you enjoy the game without purchasing play coins with real cash. If you need coins badly but don't want to send money you can either hope a Pokéstop drops coins for you or you can go defend a gym. Other than that your only other option is to purchase in-game coins with real money.
Catch all the Pokémon! Literally, catch every Pokémon you see. Even if you already have that Pokémon, do it! The reason is because catching multiples of the same Pokémon helps you evolve or power up Pokémon. So say you caught a Weedle. If you catch a bunch of other Weedles you can transfer them to the professor in exchange for Weedle candy and stardust. The candy of that Pokémon or its evolved forms and the stardust help the Pokémon power up or evolve. It's no longer about leveling through battles.
Keep tapping to win battles. So when you are level 5 you are ready to face gyms which is just a claimed spot. Before fighting a gym you'll have to choose three different teams. Each teams' mascot is one of the legendary bird Pokémon from Generation 1.Once you've picked a team you're ready to start being a champion. When you fight a gym you need to keep a lot in mind. The CP or combat power of you Pokémon should face up to the opponent's. Also typing is in the game so say there's a Charmander at the gym, using a water type Pokémon gives you the advantage. For battling, you need to tap on the screen to get your Pokémon to attack. There's a light blue bar that will let you do a special attack when filled. To use the special attack just hold your finger down on the screen. Once you beat a gym you leave one of your Pokémon there to defend it. The Pokémon will return to your party once they are defeated. You may have to either revive it or feed it potions. Now if you beat a gym that's on the same team as you you can leave another Pokémon at that gym, making it harder for other teams to conquer. The thing with beating your own team is that you can only use one Pokémon, whereas if you're planning to beat an opposing team you can use multiple Pokémon to do so.
Try not to rage over the servers. You will get frustrated with this game. The servers often freeze your game or they just don't let you on the game at all. I find the servers won't let you on usually around the hours of 1-4pm US central time. A friend of mine pointed out that it could be because it's lunch time on the west coast. Lunch break anyone?
Another thing you'll witness is the freezing up of the servers. I experienced this a lot when I'm trying to face gyms. I'll have the opponents Pokémon at it's last bit of HP and then none of my attacks register. I can restart the game as many times as I want but it always happens. So if you experience this just go have fun catching Pokémon until the developers fix this problem.
I will update this post more as the game develops in the next few weeks. Thanks for reading and hope you have fun with Pokémon Go!
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